The Young Man from Atlanta

by Horton Foote

Book Overview

THE STORY: In her review of the play, Marian Burkhart explains the story: In THE YOUNG MAN FROM ATLANTA, a kind of elected ignorance has skewed the past and narrowed the future, for the Kidders, Lily... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0525941142
• ISBN13: 9780525941149
• Release Date: December 1995
• Publisher: Dutton
• Length: 128 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.8" x 6.0"

Customer Reviews

Meet the Kidders.

How hard it is to lose a child. There is no hyperbole in such a statement, and there is no need to assume. To read Horton Foote's The Young Man From Atlanta is to read multiple stories at once. By this notion, the lives and fortunes of the Kidder's, Will and Lily Dale are doubly shaken. Not only has their child died, but the work that Will dedicated himself to has left him behind, the friends he thought he had, the trust he knew with his wife, their world itself has been fractured. All along too is the underlying story, the sensation that resonates through the play, the ominouos, the untold, the mystery. The inability to know a son who moved away, and spent money but had nothing, who went for a swim not knowing how to swim, and knew a young man-a roommate-who shows up in the Kidder's world to grieve or to swindle. The mystery of a kindly step-father who may in his past have transgressed with younger women, of the world's whimsy at pressing it's grotesqueness upon you... This is a deceptive play. Especially in reading, it can seem to be a straight forward, dull and obvious story. That is Foote's brilliance. These characters are not sophisticated, or conniving, or analytical to the point of paralysis or explosion. They are clear in their lives, and basic in their needs. And they are older, habits are strong, constitutions hardy. So when the dubiousness of the outside, the growing South, the mystery of their one child's death, the onslaught of a business world that is not loyal or honorable to the past impedes, that constitution fractures. Foote is one of the Great American writers. Great.

A Sincere Joy to Read

Horton Foote is everything that today's culture is not -- thoughtful, sensitive, insightful. His works are rich, but can be accessed only by taking the time to listen and reflect, skills not well practiced these days (as evidenced by the dimwitted reviewer of the previous entry). If you cannot see his plays, please read them slowly and carefully (Both 'The Young Man from Atlanta' and 'The Last of the Thortons' are excellent choices) and the rewards will be tremendous.